Factory fabricated expansion joint cover

ABSTRACT

Expansion joint cover for preventing moisture and debris from entering through a gap in a roof cover or a gap between a roof cover and a wall by providing a bellows-shaped device positioned into the gap and covering the gap with a flexible membrane which extends away from the bellows and covers a substantial portion around the bellows allowing contraction/expansion of the bellows for preventing entry of moisture and debris into the underlying structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to roof expansion joint covers and more particularly, to insulated bellows style expansion joint covers.

2. Reported Developments

In today's market there are three basic styles of roof expansion joint covers: insulated bellows, extruded/corrugated bellows, and metal bellows. The major supplier of these bellows include: Johns Manville with the product “Expand-O-Flash” and Cain Manufacturing whose product is nearly identical to that of Johns Manville. All of these products have the foam stopping at the edge of the bellows (which never extends beyond the bellows).

A typical expansion join cover is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,026 in which the expansion join cover comprises:

-   -   a first plate;     -   a second plate; and     -   a housing for the second plate.

The first plate is hingedly attached to a first surface. The second plate is hingedly attached to the first plate and the housing which is hingedly secured to the second surface. In use, the second plate slides within the housing to accommodate variations in separation distance and vertical offset between the two surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a factory fabricated expansion joint cover which comprises a foam support extending beyond the edge of the bellows section. The expansion joint cover is an assembly of these components:

-   -   a single ply roofing membrane;     -   a bonding adhesive; and     -   a flexible foam

The unique part of this assembly is the bonding between the foam and the single-ply roofing membrane. The membrane and the flexible foam are bonded only in the center area of the flexible foam leaving portions of the flexible foam un-bonded.

The expansion joint cover is placed in the opening of a roof system to exclude moisture and debris from entering the structures and allow for independent movement of the structures and materials.

In a typical field fabricated expansion joint cover, a foam rope or molded part is placed in or over the expansion joint opening and the roofing membrane is placed over this section and attached to roof membrane on either side. The membrane may or may not be bonded to the foam or molded part.

A pre-fabricated flexible bellows type expansion joint cover typically is comprised of a weathering membrane, with metal flanges or reinforcements attached to the membrane and a foam support bonded to the underside of the bellows section. When installed the mechanical attachment of the flanges forces the excess bellows width to extend upwards forming the typical flexible bellows shape. In all these products, the attachment of the flanges produces the compression to form the typical flexible bellows shape. In all current products the foam stops at the edge of the flange and does not extend into the joint opening.

In this invention, the sections of foam un-bounded to the membrane extend down into the joint opening and provide the compression of the excess width, forming the typical flexible bellows shape. The un-bonded flanges extend out from the bellows section onto either side and are sealed to the adjacent roofing.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the expansion joint cover is applied roof-to-wall wherein the un-bonded portion of the foam is on one side only. In another aspect, this design corresponds to the roof-to-roof design.

In still another embodiment, the present invention relates to a curb-to-curb or curb-to-wall applications wherein the un-bonded foam extends down into the opening and the un-bonded flanges conform to curbs and/or walls on either side and are sealed to the roofing system.

The weathering membrane is a single-ply roofing membrane of polymeric material such as thermoplastic olefins, chlorinated polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, chlorosulfonated polyethylene or ethylene propylene dione rubber (EPER). It may also be a polymer membrane equivalent in performance. The flanges can also be ridged materials including metals attached to the membrane.

The adhesive layer which secures the membrane to the substrate may be a butyl compound or other waterproofing compounds such as PVAC (polyvinyl acetate, water-resistant polyvinyl acetate adhesive), EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) -hot melt adhesive, pressure-sensitive hot melt adhesive atactic polypropylene (APP), base pressure sensitive tapes, polyurethane adhesives, thermoplastic adhesive films based with co-polyamides, thermoplastic adhesive film based with mixed polyolefin and co-polyamide, animal base adhesive, asphalt base adhesive styrol or verstate acrylate types or neoprene rubber cement base adhesive.

A release liner (not-shown) is typically positioned on the top surface of the adhesive layer to facilitate transport and shipping of the expansion joint cover. The release liner may be made of kraft paper, a film-based, waxed, polycoated or polymeric film. The release liner may be treated with a silicone, a fluorocarbon polymer such as TEFLON® or some other release agent with non-sticking properties that enables the release liner to be easily peeled away from the adhesive composition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of components of the expansion joint cover showing the three main components thereof: a single-ply roofing membrane A; a bonding adhesive B; and a flexible foam C.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the expansion joint cover over a roof-to-roof joint opening showing the bellows in place with the un-bonded foam extending down into the opening and the flanges sealed to the adjacent roofing.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of roof-to-wall installation over the joint opening.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration on a curb-to-curb installation over the joint opening.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration on a curb-to-wall installation over the joint opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The factory fabricated expansion joint cover is an assembly of three components as shown in FIG. 1 wherein:

-   -   A is a single-ply roofing membrane     -   B is a bonding adhesive; and     -   C is a flexible foam.

The unique part of this assembly is two-fold: The bonding B, between the foam C, and the roofing membrane A, is only at the center of the foam leaving portions of the foam un-bonded to the membrane; and the un-bonded foam extending down into the joint opening is the primary force producing the bellows shape extending above the joint opening as shown in the attached drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a typical installation of this invention over a joint opening in a roof-to-roof application wherein:

-   -   J is the roof deck with an insulation     -   I is the roofing membrane or system     -   N is a vapor barrier     -   M is a compressible insulation     -   L is the un-bonded foam portion of the expansion joint cover         bellows extending down into the joint opening     -   D is the bellows portion extending above the adjacent roofs         referred to as the “typical shape of a flexible bellows style         expansion joint cover”.     -   K is a canted area adjacent to the joint opening to shed water         away for the joint opening     -   E is the flexible foam bonded to the underside of the single-ply         roofing membrane     -   G is the side flange where it is sealed to the roofing system;         (the style and materials used to effect this seal vary depending         on the roofing;     -   PVC, TPO, BUR, and others)     -   H is the caulking or edge sealant to seal the edge of the flange         to the roofing system.

When the expansion joint cover is set in place, the un-bonded foam portions “L” are placed down into the expansion joint opening while the attached membrane flanges are spread out onto the adjacent roof decks.

Unique features of the present invention provides benefits including:

-   -   no metal or rigid nailing strips are needed when installing the         expansion joint cover;     -   the un-bonded foam “L” extending into the joint opening,         produces a compression seal against the vertical faces of the         expansion joint opening helping seal the joint opening;     -   the un-bonded foam of the bellows extending into the opening         holds the expansion joint cover in place and helps free the         hands of the installer to make a permanent seavattachment to the         roofing system on each side of the joint opening;     -   the tensioning provided by the un-bonded foam sections extending         into the joint opening helps prevent the bellows from dropping         inverted;     -   if the bellows drop inverted, it would form a trough that         collects water and debris that can lead to failure of the joint         system; and     -   reduces installation labor.

FIG. 3 shows a typical roof-to-wall installation of the expansion joint cover of the present invention.

This design comprises a vapor barrier W, attached to the roof deck and the wall forming a support to hold the compressible insulation V. The flexible foam is bonded to the roofing membrane from one edge where it meets the wall P, to a point where the bellows meets the cant on the roof deck. The flange R, extends from this point out onto the roofing membrane where it is welded or sealed in place S. The un-bonded portion of the foam extends down into the joint opening U, forming a compression seal against the vertical surface of the roof deck. The flange on the wall side is sealed to the wall O, by welding the flange. This installation forms the typical flexible bellows shape for a roof-to-wall or curb-to-wall installation. The seals of the flanges to the wall and roof will be based on the roofing systems being used.

FIG. 4 shows a curb-to-curb application of the expansion joint cover of the present invention. In this design the un-bonded portion of the foam is installed as in a roof-to-roof installation. The roofing extends to the edge of the opening and the membrane flanges of this invention are welded or bonded to the vertical face of the curb. The flanges of this invention can be varied to allow the flange to extend out onto the roof deck on one or both sides.

While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could be readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example the membrane flanges shown could be modified by welding or bonding a ridged nailing strip for particular application needs or the flexible foam could be a round foam tube or rod. It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be construed to cover all modifications that may fall within the appended claims. 

1. An expansion joint cover connecting two separate surfaces in a roof or roof/wall area comprising a flexible bellows covering a gap between the roof covering surfaces, said expansion joint cover comprising: a flexible roofing membrane extending outwardly form the center of a bellows; and a bonding adhesive securing the membrane and the foam bellows to each other at the center portion area of the membrane leaving portions of the foam un-bonded.
 2. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 wherein an opening in a roof is covered by said expansion joint cover to exclude moisture and debris from entering an underlying structure.
 3. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 wherein said bellows comprises: a top portion containing a weathering membrane and flexible foam bellows therein attached and; a bottom portion formed by the un-bonded sections of the flexible foam bellows.
 4. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 wherein the weathering membrane attached to flexible bellows extends away for the bellows and is sealed into the adjacent roofing and or wall so that the movement of the structures occurs without creating a separation between the bellows and the roof deck.
 5. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 wherein the single-ply water impermeable sheet is of a polymeric material consisting of thermoplastic olefins, chlorinated polyethylene, ethylene propylene diene rubber, silicone, Hypalon® and mixtures thereof and or in combinations with ridged nailing strips.
 6. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 wherein said adhesive layer securing the membrane to the foam substrate is selected from a group consisting of: polyvinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl (acetate)-hot melt adhesive, pressure-sensitive hot melt adhesive atactic polypropylene, polyurethane adhesives, thermoplastic adhesive films based with co-polyamides, thermoplastic adhesive film based with mixed polyolefin, copolyamide, animal-based adhesive, asphalt-based adhesive styrol or verstate acrylate types and neoprene rubber cement base adhesive.
 7. The expansion joint cover of claim 1 further comprising a release liner positioned on the top surface of the adhesive layer to facilitate transport and shipping of the expansion join cover, selected from the group consisting of kraft paper, a film-based, waxed, polycoated or polymeric film.
 8. The expansion joint cover of claim 7 wherein the release liner is treated with a silicone or a fluorocarbon polymer.
 9. A method of preventing entry of moisture and debris into an underlying structure of a roof, said roof having a gap between two roof surfaces or a gap between a roof surface and a wall surface, said method comprising the steps of: a) positioning an expansion joint cover into said gap wherein said expansion joint cover comprises: a flexible bellows for covering the gap between two surfaces of a roof or a gap of a wall-to-roof cover; a single-ply flexible roofing membrane extending outwardly from said bellows onto a substrate; a flexible closed cell foam positioned in said bellows; and a bonding adhesive securing the roofing membrane and the bellows to each other at the center portion area of the bellows leaving portions of the foam un-bonded; and b) placing said bellows and un-bound portions of said foam bellows within joint openings and forming flexed bellows through compression and sealing flange portions to adjacent exterior systems. 